Guard-rail clamp for railways.



PATENTED JUNE 7, 1904. I F. 0.. ANDERSON. GUARD RAIL CLAMP FOR RAILWAYS. APP-LIOATION FILED MAR. 9, 1903. N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented June 7, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK C. ANDERSON, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO AMERICAN VALVE AND METER COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

'GUARD-RAIL CLAMP FOR RA ILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 762,224, dated June 7, 1904.

Application filed March 9, 1903.

To all whom it mag 001206712:

Be it known that I, FRANK C; ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guard-Rail Clamps for Railways, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to a novel and simple device to be used in railway-track construction for compensating for the wear that occurs in the guard-rails which'are opposed to the frog-points; and it has for its object the provision of very simple and efiicient means by which the guard-rail as it becomes worn by the action of the wheel-flanges can be drawntoward the main rail to always maintain the same distance between the adjacent sides of the two to prevent injury to the frogpoint; and it consists, essentially, of a tapering spacing-block, with interposed tapering bearing-plates between its sides and the adjacent sides of the webs of the main and guard rails, and an exterior clamp with a bed-plate beneath the feet of the rails, and jaws exerting pressure against the outer sides of the webs of the main and guard rails with adjustable mechanism carried by one of said jaws, where'- by the guard-rail as it becomes worn upon its inner face can be pressed toward the adjacent face of the main rail to always maintain the proper distance between the two rails.

The novelty of my invention will be hereinafter more fully set forth, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a broken plan view ofa portion of a railwaytrack at a frog, showing the opposing guardrail with my improved clamp applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view, partly broken, of my improved clamping mechanism applied to the main and guard rails. Fig. 3

is a sectional end elevation on the dotted line m m of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modified form of the tapering wedge-piece. Fig.

Serial No. 146,954. (No model.)

5 is a sectional end elevation of Fig. 4 with the tapering bearing-plates applied thereto.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts in all the figures.

A represents the main rail, B its adjacent guard-rail, and C the opposed frog-point in a railway-track crossing'adjacent to a switch, and D represents the cross-ties to which the feet of the various rails are spiked in the usual manner. As seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the foot of the guard-rail adjacent to the main rail is cut off, as is usual in guard-rail constructions, and applied to the main rail and guard-rail between two of the cross-ties and as nearly opposite the frog-point as is possible is my improved clamping and adjusting mechanism, the clamp of which'is composed of a bed-plate E, Fig. 3, fitting snugly against the under side of the feet of the main and guard rails and having on its outer side a jaw F, extending upward and inward and bearing against a block G,

which fits snugly against'the outer side of the main rail between the under side of the head and the upper side of the foot of the same and with a boss or luga entering a perforation in the web of the rail to prevent the slipping of the block G. The opposite jaw H of the clamp extends up on the inner side of the guard rail and has a threaded perforation through it to receive a set-screw I, which bears against a block. J, similar to the block G, and which bears against the inner side of the guard-rail between its head and foot and with a boss or lug b entering a perforation through the web of the guard-rail.

Fitted to the adjacent sides of the webs of the main and guard rails between the head and feet thereof are two blocks or plates K, with their adjacent sides beveled or tapering, as seen in Fig. 2, and fitted between said tapering blocks K is a long tapering wedgepiece L, with a series of equidistant perforations 0 through it.' The outer sides of the wedge-piece L near its bottom are provided with ribs (Z, which are vconfined in correspondingly-shaped grooves in the tapering blocks K, as seen in Fig. 3, and the adjacent sides of the tapering blocks K have bosses or lugs a fitted into any one of the series of perforations 0 in the spacing wedge-piece L. In this manner the parts are all securely interlocked, and as an additional precaution I employ a jam-screw f for locking the set-screw after the clamp has been tightened up.

The manner of using this clamping mechanism is as follows: W hen the guard-rail is new and first laid, the spacing wedge-piece L has its widest portion between the tapering blocks K and the parts are clamped up and the spikes are driven into the cross-ties to hold the guard-rail in place in the usual manner. After a time when the head of the guardrail becomes worn on its side adjacent to the head of the main rail under the action of the wheel-flanges the spikes holding the guardrail are withdrawn, the clamp is loosened, and the wedge-piece L is adjusted back, so as to bring a narrower portion in line with the jaws of the clamp-piece, and the lugs having been'reengaged in the proper perforation in the piece L the clamp is tightened up, thus causing the guard-rail to be drawn toward the main rail for a sufiicient distance to compensate for the wear, and then the spikes are redriven into the cross-ties to hold the guardrail in its newly-adjusted position. In this way the life of the guard-rail is greatly prolonged and the frog-points are saved from injury and accident to fast-traveling trains is prevented. Under the old practice the guard when worn on its head parallel to the main rail sufficient to cause injury to the points of the frog or possible accident was taken up and thrown away and a new one substituted in its place. By my simple and efficient clamping and spacing mechanism this is obviated and the life of the guard-rail is greatly prolonged, as will be readily understood.

Attention is called to the ribs (Z, which interlock the spacing wedge-piece L and the tapering blocks K for aiding the lugs E in holding the wedge-piece L from tipping, and these ribs may either be upon the wedge-piece L or upon the tapering plates K with opposing interlocking grooves, as will be readily understood.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown a modifica tion wherein the tapering wedge-piece L, instead of being provided with perforations c is serrated on one 'side, as shown at a, and the adjacent tapering block K has one or more teeth 7' to it into said serrations to aid in holding the plates securely against endwise movement. Under this construction the lugs c are omitted.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim- 1. In clamp mechanism for guard-rails, the combination of the main rail, the guard-rail, an exterior clamp extending under the feet of both rails and exerting pressure upon their outer sides, tapering blocks fitted to the inner adjacent sides of both rails, and a longitudinally-adjustable wedgepiece fitted between said tapering blocks, substantially as described.

2. In clamp mechanism for guard-rails, the combination of the main rail, the guard-rail, an exterior clamp extending under the feet of both rails and exerting pressure upon their outer sides, tapering blocks fitted to the inner adjacent sides of both rails, a longitudinallyadjustable wedge-piece fitted between said tapering blocks, and interlocking means between said wedge-piece, tapering blocks and the webs of the rails, substantially as described.

'3. The herein-describedclamping mechanism for guard-rails composed of the clamping plate E provided with jaws F H, the clamping set-screw I having its bearing in the jaw H, the exterior blocks Gr J with lugs to engage perforations in the webs of the rails, the tapering blocks K provided with lugs to engage perforations in the webs of the rails, and other lugs to engage perforations in an adjustable wedge-piece, the adjustable wedgepiece L to fit between the blocks K and provided with perforations 0 and ribs (Z to engage grooves in the blocks K, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

FRANK (J. ANDERSON.

Witnesses: 1

WM. J. PEoK, EDWARD Pack. 

